One by One
by Tweeter
Summary: Gibbs' team is under attack. SPOILER: Reference to events in Twilight. First NCIS fanfic, please read and review, but be gentle, 'kay? CHAPTER 6 IS UP. COMPLETE!
1. Wrong Number

A/N: This is my first NCIS fanfiction, please be gentle. It's not betaed, so all mistakes are mine and whatever the spellchecker misses. Please read and review.

One by One, by Tweeter 

Gibbs pulled out his cell phone and angrily punched in the speed dial code for DiNozzo. He knew that once Tony saw Gibbs' name on his cell he'd answer the call and when he did, he was in deep shit.

Gibbs didn't even wait for Tony to say anything when the connection was made, "DINOZZO! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" he yelled, "You better have a damn good reason for not being here and not answering your phone."

"I'm afraid Agent DiNozzo can't come to the phone right now," a cold, male voice replied.

Gibbs froze.

"Where's Tony?"

A chuckle from the other end sent chills down his spine, "Oh come now Gibbs, aren't you going to say hello?"

"I said, where is Tony?" hearing the tone of Gibbs' voice, McGee and Abby looked over at him, noting the tense set of his jaw and the pallor in his face. He looked up and signaled for them to trace the GPS signal on Tony's phone.

"He's unable to speak with you right now. Well, he's really not able to do much of anything, if you must know."

Gibbs closed his eyes momentarily, gathering his wits, "If you hurt him in any way, there is no government agency in this world that will be able to protect you, Ari." McGee was on the phone calling for backup while Abby typed furiously, getting the location of the GPS signal.

Ari Haswari laughed, "I'm very sorry that I didn't give you a chance to say good-bye to Caitlin, Gibbs, but I did like her and thought I'd be merciful and give her a quick death."

"You bastard," hissed Gibbs, "Why her? What do you want with Tony?"

"To hurt you," Ari's voice was calm, "Not just because you shot me, that was quid pro quo, Gibbs, you owed me that." Gibbs looked over at Abby who made "just one more minute" signals frantically.

"No, I wanted to bring you down a peg or two. You're so self-righteous, everything is black or white, your way is the only way. How does it feel, believing you know everything, Gibbs? Does it make you feel powerful? God-like?"

Gibbs took a steadying breath, "I have strong convictions."

Haswari laughed, "You could put it that way. I admire the loyalty you instill in your people. DiNozzo admires and respects you deeply, he has no doubt that you'll succeed in hunting me down and killing me. He's very brave and didn't make a sound through everything we've done to him. It was probably macho pride," this said with an ironic chuckle, "He did manage to assure me that I'm a dead man." Gibbs' eyes closed in pain, the knuckles of his hand holding the phone were white.

"I've decided to let him say goodbye to you, before he dies. I know you're tracing this call Gibbs, I want you to, but you'd better hurry, he doesn't look very good."

Abby motioned McGee over to the desk. Grabbing a piece of paper and pen she started scribbling something and shoved the paper at McGee. He read the note and hurried back to the phone to give the back-up the destination; he then gave the note to Gibbs who read it and nodded.

Signaling McGee to get the car, Gibbs tried to keep Ari on the phone, hoping to catch him at the scene.

"How do I know Tony isn't dead already?" he asked, as he entered the elevator, hoping his connection held.

"You don't," replied Haswari, "that's part of the game. Can you make it here in time to save your man, or will you get here to find a body, still warm. Even if you get to DiNozzo while he's still alive, how serious are his injuries? Are they fatal? Will you have to watch him die, holding him as he gasps his final breath?"

"This isn't a game," growled Gibbs as he pulled McGee out of the car and pointed him to the passenger seat.

Ari laughed, "Oh, but it is, Gibbs, and I'm winning, three to zero."

Desperately trying to stall, Gibbs sped down the highway toward Tony's location. "How do you figure that?" he asked casually.

"You know," replied Ari, "but that's enough of this, I know you've traced the location of this phone by now and are headed this way, so I'll just take my leave. Until the next round, Gibbs."

The connection cut off and Gibbs threw his phone out the window in frustration.

"Damn it! Where's the back-up? Are they close?" he yelled at McGee.

"They're five minutes away."

"Tell them to block all exit routes around the building. Nothing within three square blocks gets out of there."

"Yes Boss."

"And tell them to wait until we get there. Is an ambulance on the way too?"

McGee spoke briefly into the phone, listening to the reply. "The ambulance is fifteen minutes away, they were delayed by a traffic accident."

Gibbs pounded the steering wheel, veering wildly at top sped, "Tell them to get their asses moving!"

"Yes, boss." McGee relayed the message, verbatim.


	2. What have you done with him?

**One by one, by Tweeter**

_A/N: Thank you for the encouraging and helpful comments. I added the spoiler notice about Twilight, I hadn't even thought of that! Again, this is unbetaed, I have no beta, unfortunately, so any mistakes are all mine. I tried to check for spelling, grammar is not my strong suit. I hope you enjoy this. Please read and review. This is just coming out, there's no plan, I hope I can finish it!_

Chapter 2 - What have you done to him?

Gibbs approached the warehouse cautiously, signaling the others to go around back while he and McGee took positions on either side of the door. Nodding at the younger agent to get ready, Gibbs kicked the door open and dove in, staying low to the ground and sweeping the space with his eyes, ready to fire.

"Clear" he yelled. The air was thick with dust and smelled of oil and smoke. The warehouse was dark save for a single light in the middle of the room. There was a table directly under the light, with something lying on it, covered by a tarp. If Gibbs weren't so afraid of what he'd find under the tarp he'd laugh about the dramatic way Haswari had set this up. But that could be Tony lying under there, in who knows what condition, probably dead.

Mindful of any surprises that could be waiting, Gibbs approached the table cautiously.

"Tony," he called out softly. There was no response.

Reverting to his no-nonsense, Marine Gunnery Sergeant voice, "DiNozzo!"

Still nothing.

His heart beating rapidly, Gibbs reached for the tarp, pulling it away swiftly.

Lying on the table was a mannequin. The figure was wearing the clothes Tony had been wearing when he left work earlier. There was blood on the shirt, soaking the collar and upper portion.

"God damn it!" Gibbs threw the tarp to the ground, his face red and twisted in fury.

McGee went to the plastic figure and picked up a piece of paper that had been tucked into the shirt pocket.

"Boss, there's a note!"

* * *

Ari Haswari lowered the binoculars, smiling to himself. He had watched the black sedan come flying toward the warehouse, screeching to a halt by the assembled police cars. 

He had sent his men on, each of them heading for their method of departure out of the country. They were going to meet up in Pakistan, to regroup and continue with their work of tearing down the fabric of the Western world.

Hawari remained behind, to witness the frustration of his enemy. He knew he could escape the blockade surrounding the area, he was much smarter than the local constabulary.

After Gibbs had shot him in the morgue, Ari made it his mission to find out everything he could about the hard-nosed Federal agent. He wanted to make Gibbs squirm, make him worry about the fate of his agent. He knew what kind of man Gibbs was, knew that he took full responsibility for the safety of his people. Killing the female agent had been the first step in his plan to destroy Gibbs. He knew that it wasn't just the professional agent, ex-Marine in him that would make Gibbs blame himself for Caitlin's death, but also the old-fashioned male chauvinism that was part of his persona. Not only had he not protected his team member, he let a woman be killed, protecting him. He failed her on more than one level.

Calmly, Ari took out his cell phone and dialed a number.

* * *

Before Gibbs could read the note a ringing sound came from the table. Tony's cell phone had been left under the mannequin. 


	3. Button, Button, Who has the Button?

**One by One, by Tweeter**

_A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews and comments. I am not familiar with posting etiquette, and I thought I'd read stories with very short paragraphs. To me, that was the logical place to break Chapter 2. To imply lack of commitment and disrespect for readers is as far off the mark as possible. I'm guilty of getting too excited and wanting to post the next part as quickly as possible. I do appreciate the comment, however, I just wanted to clarify how I feel about the story and the readers. But look, I waited until I had more out of my brain and onto paper before I posted! Never let it said I can't take criticism. Okay, I usually can't, but this time I listened and didn't pout… much._

**Chapter 3 - Button, button, who's got the button?**

"GLOVES" yelled Gibbs, as McGee hastily dropped the sheet of paper and put on a pair of latex gloves.

Before McGee could hand the note over to Gibbs a ringing sound came from the table. Tony's cell phone had been left under the mannequin.

Gibbs quickly put on a pair of gloves and grabbed the phone, checking the display on the phone, the call was from an "unknown number."

"Call Abby," he said to McGee, "Have her trace the incoming call on Tony's cell." He pressed the on button and put the phone to his ear.

"What have you done with Tony, Ari," he barked into the phone, "Where is he?"

He heard a low chuckle, "Temper, temper, Gibbs. I'm just making this more interesting. All work and no play makes us dull boys."

Practically growling, "I'm not playing with you, Ari. I want to know where Tony is, and I want to know now." Gibbs looked over at McGee who had his own cell phone to his ear. McGee shook his head, indicating Abby was still trying to trace the call.

Ari laughed, "And you call yourself an investigator? I left you a clue, right in front of your nose. Read the fucking note, Gibbs, or this game will be over before we get to the fun part."

Gibbs grabbed the forgotten piece of paper from McGee's hand, swearing when he realized he couldn't read it without his glasses. He heard Ari break the connection and cursed even louder, almost smashing Tony's phone, stopping himself just in time.

"McGee! Did Abby get anything at all from that call?"

McGee listened intently to what Abby was saying, reporting "She didn't have enough time to get anything specific, only that he's within the same calling cell."

"I'm betting not for long," muttered Gibbs. He held the paper at arms length, trying to read it before impatiently shoving it at McGee. "What does that say?"

McGee read aloud, "Sadly, you're not in time to save Agent DiNozzo's stand-in. Will you be fast enough or smart enough to find your agent before he dies? Perhaps the late " " will help you with your quest."

"What the hell does that mean?" growled Gibbs. Sending McGee out to the car to get the camera and evidence kit, he starting circling the table carefully, examining the dummy without touching it, trying to see if he could pick up a clue from the way it was laid out.

McGee was back almost immediately and started taking pictures of the scene. When Gibbs was satisfied that they had enough pictures of the mannequin and its position he started a closer examination, unbuttoning the shirt, checking underneath to see if anything was written on the torso. The plaster was smooth, with no markings at all. Next Gibbs checked the pants, finding some loose change in the right front pocket and a wallet in the back right. It was Tony's wallet, money, driver's license and credit cards all intact.

Sighing, he put the wallet and change in evidence bags and sealed them. He unbuckled the belt, unbuttoned the pants and pulled the zipper down.

McGee coughed, "Um, you don't think they…"

"I'm checking every inch of this mannequin that I can, before sending it to Abby," interrupted Gibbs. "I'm not assuming anything." He pulled the pants open and was surprised to find a pair of boxer briefs. Briefly Gibbs wondered if Ari had completely stripped Tony and placed all of his clothing, even underwear, on the mannequin, and if this was a sick joke. Tucked into the briefs was an envelope, 'Special Agent Gibbs' written on the outside.

The envelope wasn't sealed, inside were some Polaroid pictures. The first one was of Tony, eyes closed, slumped in a chair. There was blood on the side of his head, staining his face and his shirt. A head wound, that explained the amount of blood on the shirt. Gibbs couldn't tell if Tony was alive, but something told him that he was, at least when this picture was taken.

The next picture was of Tony, naked this time, blindfolded and gagged with duct tape, hands tied behind his back sitting in a chair, a current newspaper propped up conveniently in his lap, the front page clearly displayed. A tv could be seen behind him, a newscaster frozen on its screen, lines marring the image, but not preventing the caption from being read. He would have to have Abby check, but he was sure it was from that night's newscast.

The last picture was essentially the same as the second, but from a different perspective. Gibbs placed all three pictures in an evidence bag for Abby to process for prints. Hopefully she could examine the photos more closely, finding a clue of where they had been taken. Gibbs didn't think it would be that easy, however, but he was at a loss of what to do right now. It seems he was forced to participate in Ari's sick game, a macabre scavenger hunt with Tony being the end goal. He wasn't even sure if Tony was still alive, believing that he was probably already dead, but holding onto a slim hope that the young agent was still alive and waiting for his team to rescue him.


	4. Meanwhile, Back at the Lab

One by One, by Tweeter

_A/N: This story has taken on a life of its own, I swear. Thanks for the feedback, it's always appreciated. I try to incorporate corrections and suggestions when I can. I've already changed the rating and enabled anonymous comments. A huge thank you to Rinne for stepping in as beta for me!_

**Chapter 4 – Meanwhile, Back at the Lab**

Music blaring in the lab, Abby set about checking the items brought back from the warehouse for prints and other trace evidence. The usually perky technician was grim, knowing how high the stakes were. She'd seen the photos of Tony and shivered at the though of him being abused, but put it out of her mind. It wouldn't do any good for her to start obsessing about what might have happened, or what might still be happening. She could help Tony by find something, some clue, that would tell them where he was being held.

McGee was working on her computer, using sophisticated imaging software to try to find any hint of Tony's location from the photos.

Gibbs strode into the room, coming up behind Abby. "Anything?"

Abby jumped. "GIBBS! Don't do that!"

The senior agent wiped his hand across his face, sighing. "I'm sorry, Abs." He looked tired, Abby knew this was taking a toll on him. While Gibbs would never come right out and say it, he cared a great deal for Tony. He cared about all of them, sure, but Tony had a special place. Tony had a devil-may-care attitude that made everyone smile, even when they were totally pissed at him. He was a natural investigator, possessing a gift for connecting seemingly random clues. Tony and Gibbs had a strong bond, it was mentor/student, father/son, older brother/bratty kid. Whatever it was, it worked, their record of successful investigations was the best in the department.

"Have you had anything to eat?" asked Abby, worriedly. "You look like hell."

Sidestepping her question, Gibbs repeated his query.

"What do we have?"

"Nothing we didn't already know. The blood on the shirt is the same blood type as Tony's, we can do a DNA test to confirm, but I'm pretty sure it's his. There were no prints on the mannequin, the clothes, Tony's wallet, the change… nothing. The only prints were on the note, and those were McGee's."

McGee looked sheepish. "Sorry, Boss."

Gibbs ignored him. "What about the photos, any clues on the room?"

Abby went up to the plasma screen. "McGee, bring up that first photo." He punched in a command and a grainy, image appeared on the screen.

"We zoomed in as close as possible on this little spot, here in the corner." Abby held up the original photo, pointing out the area she was talking about.

"It's faint, but it looks like an airline ticket right there on the side table. See it?"

"No, Abby, I don't."

"It doesn't matter, we can't read it. We still need to examine the other pictures. It's hard, though… hard to look at them." Abby's voice faltered.

Gibbs kissed her head softly. "I know, Abs. We'll find him and we'll bring him home."

"Do you think he's still alive?"

Sighing, Gibbs replied, "I don't know."

He turned and headed back to the squad room. "Let me know if you find anything at all."

"Will do, Boss."

* * *

Gibbs turned away from the computer screen, rubbing his eyes tiredly. The words were starting to run into each other, nothing was making sense. It had been 32 hours since they had first made contact with Ari. He probably had Tony for a few hours before that, if he had grabbed the agent when he got home from work.

Gibbs looked over at Tony's empty desk. _Temporarily empty_. Tony was coming back. This wasn't like Kate. Her desk was clean, emptied of all her personal effects; nobody had used it since her death. No, Gibbs was not going to have two sterile desks in his office. His team was not going to lose anyone else.

Jaw set determinedly, Gibbs turned back to his computer and continued scouring all the information they had on Haswari to see if he could find a link to a location in the area.

* * *

"That BASTARD."

Abby jumped at the sound of McGee's yell.

"What?"

Angrily, McGee punched out a series of keystrokes, zooming in on a portion of one of the photos of Tony.

"Look at this. The arrogant son of a bitch!"

Abby looked at the plasma screen, her eyes narrowing.

"Call Gibbs down here."


	5. The River

**One by One, by Tweeter**

_A/N: Thanks once again for all the wonderful comments. **Boboseven5**: That answer comes later. **AndyCake**: Thank you. This is the first story I've written in a long time, and I wanted to keep it simple, at least in my head. Besides, I want to keep the readers on edge about Tony! Again, heartfelt thanks to Rinne, for betaing the rest of the story for me, all correct punctuation, some clearer ideas and the chapter title are hers._

**Chapter 5 – The River**

Gibbs didn't have a chance to say a word, as soon as the doors swished open Abby and McGee began talking full speed.

"GIBBS! McGee found something in one of the photos!"

"At first I didn't notice it, there were so many stray pieces of paper lying around…"

"Like that airline ticket, at least it looked like an airline ticket, could've been a train ticket…"

"…so I was concentrating on the construction of the room, in case we could find some sort of architectural anomaly…"

"Which really wouldn't have helped in this case, because, hello, we're talking the inside of a room, not anything we could recognize from the outside and this isn't the same as finding someone in an ammo dump…"

McGee glared at Abby. "Which proved a waste of time, for reasons already stated. So I started focusing on anything…"

Gibbs let out a piercing whistle, stopping the two mid-word.

"Just tell me. What. Did. You. Find?" he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Show him, McGee."

"Right, Boss."

Turning to the keyboard, McGee punched in a command and an image on the plasma screen enlarged.

Stepping forward, Gibbs squinted at the screen. "Is this a joke? Because this is not…"

"Gibbs! We wouldn't do something like that!" Abby's pigtails bounced indignantly.

"What is it?" demanded Gibbs, looking at a sheet of paper with a series of numbers on it and the words 'Come alone, or he's dead' on it.

"Longitude and Latitude"

"Where…"

"By the river." This time McGee interrupted him. He punched in some more commands, bringing up a map of the city, zooming in on an isolated part of the river.

"There's a park there, with a pier. The area is wide open, pretty much empty since boating season is over." Abby turned to Gibbs expectantly.

"He'll be able to see if I'm being followed," mused Gibbs. "I've got to do this alone."

"But Boss," objected McGee, "he'll kill you. You don't even know if Tony will be there, or if he's still alive."

"Tony's alive. And I'm going to go get him." Gibbs turned on his heel and strode out of the lab, followed closely by McGee.

* * *

The night air was chilly, as Gibbs' car approached the deserted recreation area. He saw the pier stretching out into the river, something indistinguishable at the end. The water was dark, making the pier look foreboding.

Gibbs pulled his car up to the end of the pier, pointing the headlights down the length of the wooden structure and got out of the car.

Looking around briefly, he started walking down the pier at a brisk pace. As he approached the end, he could see what was there.

Tony, still gagged, blindfolded and naked, lay curled up in a fetal position, his arms and legs bound with more duct tape.

Heart beating rapidly, Gibbs ran the last few feet and crouched next to the still body. Gently, he removed the tape from Tony's eyes and mouth, but the unconscious man didn't flinch. He pressed his fingers on Tony's throat, but couldn't feel anything, the skin cold to the touch.

Quickly, Gibbs removed the tape binding Tony's arms and legs and rolled him onto his back, placing his ear on the chilled skin of his chest. Holding his breath, Gibbs concentrated, blocking out all the ambient sounds until he heard it, a heartbeat, and then another, weak and slow, but there. He could also hear a shallow breath being drawn. Relief flooded his body as he pulled off his jacket and tried to cover Tony with it.

A blanket was tossed by his side. Without looking up, Gibbs took the blanket and wrapped the unconscious agent in it, rolling up his jacket and placing it gently under Tony's head.

"Very good, Gibbs. It appears you made it in time to bid your man goodbye."

Gibbs looked up at the smirking face of Ari Haswari, the man who killed one of his agents and may have killed another.

Ari motioned with his gun.

"Stand up."

* * *

The air was still, the soothing sound of the river the only thing breaking the silence. The two men stood facing each other in the glare of the headlights. Steel blue eyes bored into ice cold ones, both men sizing each other up. 

"You gonna just shoot me?" Gibbs nodded at the gun, spreading his arms and turning around until he was again facing Ari. "I'm unarmed."

Ari cocked his head. "That wouldn't be very sporting, would it?

Smiling crookedly, Gibbs agreed, "Nope."

"I did say to come alone, not unarmed."

"That you did. I extrapolated."

Ari laughed, a cold, ugly sound. "So Gibbs, fancy a little hand-to-hand?"

"Oh yeah." Gibbs' eyes turned predatory.

"To the death?"

"Oh yeah."

Ari turned and threw the gun toward the grassy area by the car. As he was turning back, Gibbs rushed him. Ari huffed as he was driven to the pier on his back, but twisted and pinned Gibbs underneath him.

The two fought like devils, the silence broken by the sound of flesh hitting flesh, harsh breathing and grunts of pain. After what seemed like hours, it appeared that despite Gibbs' Marine training, Ari's youth and equal training were beginning to take their toll.

Gibbs staggered back as a strong kick hit him directly in the solar plexus. He fell to his knees, unable to draw in a breath. Through blurry vision he saw Ari standing in front of him, breathing hard from the exertion, ready to deliver the killing blow.

Suddenly there was a shot and the front of Ari's chest exploded. The look of pure hatred on Ari's face turned to surprise. He looked down at Gibbs, eyebrows raised, fell to his knees, then pitched forward onto his face, dead.

Gibbs looked up at McGee, dressed in a scuba suit, holding a gun, looking grim.

Gasping for air, Gibbs managed to croak out, "What took you so long?"

"Sorry Boss, I got disoriented. I had to surface briefly to get my bearings. I was afraid he'd see or hear me, but you kept him occupied."

"Well yeah, McGee, that was the idea." Gibbs sank the rest of the way down, sitting heavily on the deck of the pier. "Make sure that bastard's dead."

"Yes, Boss."

Sirens approached in the distance, back-up and an ambulance. Gibbs crawled over next to Tony, taking a lax hand in his.

"We're going to get you to a hospital, Tony," he murmured, "You hang in there just a little while longer, okay?" With his free hand he reached to stroke the young agent's hair.


	6. Family

**One by One, by Tweeter**

_Once again, I want to thank everyone for their comments and for sticking with me through this. I forgot how much I love writing and how starved I was for stories, especially stories that read like episodes since I will not pair my guys up with anyone! **AndyCake**: I appreciate your comments and respect your views. I already have another story in mind, and am laying out the plot and events before I write willy-nilly. I respectfully disagree with your opinion that Ari throwing away the gun is a plot hole, though I do think it's awkward. I think for a macho, arrogant man such as Ari, fighting an enemy hand to hand is very characteristic of him. But I do see your point of view. As usual, loads of thanks to **Rinne** for catching punctuation problems and offering comments, and for thinking up the titles for the last two chapters. I may not name chapters anymore, it's too hard!_

**Chapter 6 – Family**

The waiting room was filled with an assortment of humanity, all in various stages of distress, except for the four very healthy, very anxious people, one of whom was pacing and muttering to himself.

"Jethro," Ducky called, "please, sit down. They'll come out and tell us Tony's condition as soon as they can."

"I need to know now!" At that, Gibbs headed for the door to the Emergency treatment rooms, only to be stopped by Ducky, moving faster than a man at his age should be able to move.

"Let the medical staff do their jobs, Jethro," admonished the older man. "You won't be doing Tony any good by getting in their way or distracting them."

The uncertainty and fear shone plainly on Gibbs' face. "You saw him, Ducky. He was so still and so cold. I could barely feel a pulse, I had to put my ear directly over his heart to make sure it was still beating."

Ducky's nodded. "Yes, yes, I saw that. He's suffering from hypothermia, but it looked like it could be a mild case. His vital signs were steady when they brought him in, and he's a healthy young man. Please, stay calm, if not for his sake, then for Abby's. She's terrified of losing him."

"I am, too."

Ducky smiled softly. "I know how much you care about your people, and I know that you blame yourself for Caitlin's death and Tony's kidnapping, but it's not your fault. It's all on that madman's head."

"He was going after my people, Ducky. To get to me. If they weren't on my team they wouldn't have been targeted at all."

"So what does that mean, you stop caring about your people? You stop interacting with anyone at all, in case they're targeted by your enemies?" challenged Ducky. "You may project a hard-nosed image, and you are a bull-headed, forceful man, but _I_ know you have a caring side. Your people respect and admire you. Tony practically imitates you, he tries so hard to make you proud. Do you think he's wishing he'd never accepted your offer to leave Baltimore and join NCIS?"

Ducky paused, as if waiting for an answer, but continued before Gibbs could even open his mouth.

"No, he would not. He's learned so much from you and that's why he respects you. He knows what kind of a man you are, what kind of investigator, and he tries to soak in everything he can from you."

"And Kate?" whispered Gibbs.

"Kate respected you as well. She willingly took a bullet for you. She probably would have thrown herself in front of the second bullet if it was heading for you and she had seen it." His eyes misted. "We all love you, too, Jethro, whether you want to believe it or not. We're a family."

Before Gibbs could say anything the nurse at the nursing station called out, "DiNozzo family?"

Ducky looked meaningfully at Gibbs, who replied, "That's us."

Abby and McGee joined them and the group was ushered back through the double doors. A young man with a white coat over surgical greens met them, carrying a chart. He checked it briefly and looked up. "Special Agent Gibbs?"

"I'm Gibbs."

"You're listed as Agent DiNozzo's emergency contact and next-of-kin." He looked inquiringly at the other three people who were watching him anxiously.

"These are the rest of our team members. We're family," Gibbs' tone brooked no argument.

The doctor nodded. "I'm Doctor Eddington. Agent DiNozzo is resting comfortably, we'll be moving up to a floor when a bed is ready, that shouldn't be long now."

"How serious are his injuries?" Gibbs couldn't help sounding anxious.

"Let's see," Eddington referred to the chart in his hand, "The most serious thing is the hypothermia. His temperature was 90 degrees, well below normal but not low enough to cause permanent damage, plus it appears he wasn't exposed to the cool air for very long. We've got him on oxygen with a humidifier, to bring his temperature up slowly. There was a deep laceration on the right side of his head, it took about 25 stitches. We'll have to keep a close eye on him for signs of a concussion and there's a risk of bleeding in the skull once his blood is circulating normally. He's a bit dehydrated, but we're taking care of that with an IV... that's being warmed slightly to help with the hypothermia, as well. Other than some minor cuts and contusions, he appears to be relatively unharmed."

"From what Ari said, I thought he'd be in bad shape. It sounded as if they were torturing him, or worse," McGee said in surprise.

"To get to me, imagining what he was doing to Tony," replied Gibbs grimly. "I'm still surprised that he didn't do more damage to him."

"But why was he naked?" McGee asked.

"Psychological torture for Tony, perhaps?" postulated Ducky. "Being blindfolded and naked, he could have thought he was going to be sexually violated."

Gibbs turned to the doctor. "May we see him?"

"Sure, he's over there in bed three. You can go with him, when they take him up to his room." The doctor pointed them toward a cubicle to the right.

Drawing the curtain aside, the group approached the gurney quietly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping figure. Tony's face was pale, the lips still bluish, his eyes moving restlessly under the closed lids. There was a large, white bandage taped over the side of his head.

Abby approached the side of the gurney and took his hand in her own. "He's so cold," she whispered.

Tony's eyelids fluttered, then opened. He blinked slowly, trying to focus.

"Hey, Tony," Abby said softly. "How ya feeling?"

Tony blinked sleepily at her, a small smile forming on his lips. His voice was weak and she had to bend closely to hear him through the oxygen mask,

Abby looked up at the rest of the group. "He's his normal, crazy self. He's 'never better'."

Gibbs laughed for the first time in what seemed like days. "You look like crap, DiNozzo."

Tony turned toward his boss, and said something. Gibbs moved closer and lowered his head so he could hear what he was saying.

"I knew you'd find me, Boss," he whispered. Gibbs was touched by the trust in the young man's eyes.

"I had my doubts, Tony."

"I didn't."

Gibbs smiled and took Tony's free hand, squeezing it gently. "Then it's good one of us kept the faith." He looked at the bandage on Tony's head. "You're going to have quite a scar."

Tony pulled his hand free and reached up to feel the side of his head. His eyes widened in shock. "They shaved my head?"

Ducky began chuckling softly, while Gibbs shook his head in disbelief. Abby stroked Tony's hair. "You're still beautiful, Tony," she said consolingly. McGee just rolled his eyes.

An orderly came up to the cubicle. "Agent DiNozzo's room is ready, are you all coming up with him?"

"Yes," replied Gibbs firmly. "We're staying with him for as long as he needs us." The others nodded in agreement.

The nurse on the 5th floor was surprised by the number of people following the gurney. The orderly handed her the chart and reported:

"This is Agent Anthony DiNozzo and family."

**FIN**

_Thank you for sticking with this. You didn't really think I'd kill my Tony off, did you? Okay, I did kill my favorite character off in a Due South story, but that story was one of those that wrote itself and dragged me kicking and screaming into it. I do, however, tend to hurt people, it's so nice to comfort them. Perhaps I should seek help for that little proclivity._


End file.
